Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy told SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly on Thursday that “normal guys can see through” failed Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s claims of appealing to average white male voters based on his actions.
During a Harvard Kennedy School forum on Wednesday, Walz called himself the “permission structure” for white males in rural areas to help persuade them to vote for the Democrat ticket. After Kelly played the clip on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Portnoy immediately called out Walz’s “delusion,” adding that the former candidate “doesn’t act like a normal guy.”
“Oh, that’s delusional. I mean, that’s wildly delusional,” Portnoy said. “I knew he had the football thing, but he doesn’t speak to a normal guy. He doesn’t act like a normal guy. His mannerisms weren’t like everyday guys. There was no part of him that connected to what a normal guy is talking about or interested in. By the way, normal guys can see through that pretty quickly.”
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“I remember hearing that he was like a football coach, but even that was a strange coach, the story behind it. So it didn’t really work out,” Portnoy added. “That anybody, by the way, with a brain could have screened him for five seconds, been like, this is the guy that — I don’t know who they have in the party, by the way, that would have done that. But you could have screened him, and anybody could have said that right away. But that is one of the problems with the Democrats. They don’t see that.”
According to a CNN/SSRS poll, the Democratic Party hit an all-time low favorability rating of 29% among respondents — a 20-point drop since January 2021. Additionally, young Americans have moved away from Congressional Democrats, with just 29% approving of their representatives compared to 42% in spring 2017, according to a Harvard Youth Poll released in April.
Kelly went on to say how the party has tried to elevate politicians like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, prompting Portnoy to ask which male Democrat he could actually see resonating with voters.
“I mean, you could run it by a man like James Carville. He’s got the ability to say ‘That’s not going to resonate with middle America,’” Kelly said.
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“Massachusetts Governor [Charlie] Baker. He was a pretty normal guy. Not only went to the NCAA, but I would say he was a normal speak-to guy,” Portnoy said.
Kelly then asked the Barstool CEO if he thought “jazz hands,” referring to Walz, might not be the right leader for the Democrat Party.
“He was one of the worst candidates. The whole ticket was bad,” Portnoy said. “That’s why they lost. But yeah, that is. That’s not even a political thing.”
“If you just pulled a group of guys out of a bar and were like, ‘Is this — are you going to be friends with that guy?’ Most would probably be like, ‘No, we’re not.’ So, and that is, again, has nothing to do with politics. It’s just the vibe he gave off,” Portnoy added.
Following his failed White House bid, Walz resurfaced in the media spotlight in March to launch a town hall tour across red districts nationwide. As Democrats appear to struggle to unite behind a single leader, a March CNN/SSRS poll said that over 30% of respondents were unable to name a Democratic leader they felt “best reflects the core values” of the party.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
